Roberta R. Katz

Katz is coordinating an interdisciplinary group of scholars who are examining the cultural norms and values of those born during and after the mid-1990s.

Roberta Katz is a Senior Research Scholar at Stanford, working in both the Department of Communication and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS). She is coordinating an interdisciplinary group of scholars who are examining the cultural norms and values of those born during and after the mid-1990s, an age group that has been denominated “Generation Z.” The research will look closely at the traits that define the Generation Z culture, both in and outside the United States, and at the historical trends that have influenced the enculturation of members of this group.

Katz holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University as well as a JD from the University of Washington. She was in private law practice before becoming the General Counsel and Senior Vice President of McCaw Cellular Corporation (now AT&T Wireless) and, subsequently, Netscape Communications Corporation. Between July 2004 and September 2017, she served under Stanford University Presidents John Hennessy and Marc Tessier-Lavigne as their Associate Vice President for Strategic Planning. She also served as President Tessier-Lavigne’s interim Chief of Staff until early 2017. Katz has been deeply involved in the facilitation of a variety of interdisciplinary research initiatives at Stanford, and she is a current member of various Stanford advisory boards. She is also a member of the Boards of Trustees of the Exploratorium (SF) and the National Parks Conservation Association (DC).